Reading man fires stolen revolver into the air in Oakbrook Homes, police say

A Reading man fired a stolen revolver into the air outside an occupied residence in Oakbrook Homes while walking from a car to a relative's house, city police said Wednesday.

The incident about 1 a.m. Monday drew numerous police to the 900 block of Scott Street, with officers who arrived training their rifles on the home while waiting for more officers, police said.

Police gave the following account:

They knocked numerous times on the door of the home where a witness reported the man who had fired the weapon had entered. After a brief delay, someone answered the door, and police spoke to a woman who is the tenant and three men.

Police had the three men sit on the couch while they talked to the woman in the kitchen. She allowed police to the search the apartment, and they found a loaded .357-magnum revolver hidden under the warming tray of the oven.

The first man they questioned said he had allowed his 23-year-old cousin, Juan Alicea-Velez, to use his car. Alicea-Velez had crashed into a curb while the group of men was on their way to the woman's home. While walking to her home, he fired a shot into the air.

The woman allowed the group to enter her residence, and Alicea-Velez hid the gun in the kitchen.

Police determined the gun had been reported stolen in Lower Heidelberg Township on Nov. 9.